Your router’s firewall, if it has one, can be turned on and off in the settings webpage for the router. macOS has its built-in firewall that can be configured in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences and your broadband router probably has one too. You can also usually configure a firewall to prevent your Mac from being “pinged” – where a piece of data is sent to it over the network to check if it’s “there.”įirewalls can be software or hardware, though most these days are software. Firewalls block incoming and outgoing network connections and can often be configured to be as strict or as relaxed as you like.
One of the most important tools in your online security arsenal is a firewall.
